What Happens on the Isle, Stays on the Isle

Chapter 5

This chapter was a lot longer than I expected, but I guess that happens when you have too much fun writing it. Enjoy.

After rescuing Ben and escaping from Uma and her crew, the VKs (and Lonnie) rush to the limo and drive out of the Isle of the Lost. During the ride, Ben talks to Mal about Uma and about what he learned from being on the Isle of the Lost.

"I got to see the Isle. They're my people, too," said Ben. "Uma helped me see that."

"Ben, Uma captured you," reminded Mal.

"Uma's an angry girl with a bad plan," said Ben. "That's not so different from you when you came to Auradon, Mal."

Mal looked a little offended. Ben felt like he said the wrong words.

"Awkward," Dude commented.

"Dude, just because you can talk now, it doesn't mean that you always have to," said Carlos, trying to keep his dog from making the moment more awkward.

"Let's just agree to never talk about this to anyone. Ever," said Mal, sounding extremely serious. "That means you too, dog."

"Hey, he has a name," said Carlos, holding Dude closer to him.

"That means you too, Dude," Mal reluctantly corrected herself. "Happy?"

Carlos covered Dude's mouth, trying to keep from speaking. However, Dude licked his hand, causing him to retract it.

"Gross," Evie reacted.

"Sorry," said Dude. "Sort of."

"I'm just glad to finally be out of here," said Evie, relieved.

"Do you really hate it here, Evie?" asked Mal.

"I'm not saying I hated it here," said Evie. "I'm just really happy where I live now. In Auradon, a place where I can be free to be me."

Mal looked askance at Evie.

"Is there anything here that at least made living here a bit worth it?" asked Mal.

"Well, I had you, Jay, and Carlos," said Evie.

"You're welcome," said Jay, who was driving the limo.

"But what specifically about the three of us do you like about?" asked Mal, raising an eyebrow.

"Is that a necessary question?" asked Evie.

"I just want to understand, E," said Mal. "Let's start with Carlos."

"W-W-Wh-Wh-Why Carlos?" asked Evie nervously.

"He was your first friend," said Mal with a smirk. "Only fitting you talk about him first."

"Um, can we discuss this when we're not in the same room as a couple of AKs?" asked Evie, trying to escape the conversation.

"No, I'd love to hear about you two," said Ben. "Mal told me you two were very close. I'd like to know how close."

"Me too," said Lonnie.

Evie's fingers started shaking as she tried to come up with friendly, strictly friendly words to say about Carlos. She looks to her right and sees him smiling at her.

"Are you okay with this?" asked Evie.

Carlos holds Evie's hand and says, "It's okay."

"Well, uh," Evie paused for a moment. "Even for a villain kid, Carlos was already pretty sweet. He was always asking how I feel, always patched me up when I accidentally hurt myself, always looking out for her, no matter how many times I tell him I don't need it."

"That's sweet," said Ben.

"Yeah, he is," said Evie, smiling at Carlos, holding his hand with both her own.

"Tell 'em more," said Mal.

"I've already said enough," said Evie.

"No, you haven't," said Mal with a sly grin. "C'mon, E. What else do you admire about Carlos?"

"Um, well, he's really smart, which you probably already know," said Evie. "We would hang out in his secret tree house..."

"Which is no longer a secret," Carlos interrupted.

"And he would teach me some science-y stuff, but I would just sit there and act stupid," Evie continued.

Carlos laughed at the memory, and so did Evie.

"He never stopped, though," said Evie. "He would still go on about neutrons and electrons and atomic numbers and all that stuff."

"How do you feel when you're around him?" asked Mal, still wearing the sly grin on her face.

"I feel, well, safe," said Evie. "Before we came here to Auradon, he was my best-est friend and whenever I'm around him, I always feel like I can count on him to be there for me. To stand next to me when I feel alone. To talk to me whenever I feel down..." Evie, for some reason, stared longingly at Carlos as she continued. "To hold my hand when I needed one to hold. To offer me a shoulder to cry on when I need it."

"That was mostly you doing the offering," said Carlos.

"Yeah, but you offered a shoulder a few times," said Evie.

"And Carlos, can you tell us what makes Evie special to you?" asked Mal.

"I thought this was about what I love about all of you," said Evie.

"Yeah, but now I want Carlos to say his part," said Mal, still smirking. "Go on, Snowball. Say something."

Carlos clears his throat first before speaking. "Well, every time I'm with Evie, I feel the same way she does. I'm never alone. I've been alone for all my life, until I met her. I never thought someone so vain, manipulative, and bad to ever want someone like me in her life." Carlos was no beginning to stare at Evie the same was she was staring at him as he talked. "She would always comfort me when I feel sad. She would always listen to me, even if she has no idea what I'm saying. She would always give me a hug whenever we're alone..."

"Okay, this is all sounding a little too cute for me," said Jay, feeling the need to barf.

"I can still remember that one time she planted her lips on my head," Carlos continued.

Ben's mouth formed to look like he was saying, "ooh." Mal's grin grew wider as she listened.

"It made me feel like I was in a new world," said Carlos, still staring at Evie. "For one split second, I felt like I wasn't even on the Isle. I felt like I was somewhere else, somewhere beautiful."

Carlos and Evie started leaning towards each other. Remembering that Ben was sitting next to her, Mal clapped her hands, interrupted the two from doing something they'll regret doing right now.

"Okay, that's quite enough," she said. "Maybe we'll talk about some other time."

"Sounds good to me," said Evie.

"Good," said Jay. "It was starting to sound like one of those cheesy sitcoms back there."

"You're welcome," Mal said sarcastically.

As they waited for the limo to return to Auradon Prep, Evie and Carlos scooted closer to each other. Evie puts one arm around Carlos and pulls him closer. His white locks brushing against her blue ones. His cheek, gently pressed against her own.

Ben smiled, touched to see how close they are. Mal, meanwhile, was still smirking. All she wanted was to toy with the intimacy between Evie and Carlos, and she enjoyed watching them compliment each other and stare at each other. She wished she could've seen where the leaning in from earlier would end, but for now, she was satisfied with the lovely moment between them.

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